


Enemies of the heir

by GreyHaven



Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: Case Fic, Fluff, Multi, OT3, Silly, three gulls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 04:57:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10690191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyHaven/pseuds/GreyHaven
Summary: Established Three Gulls relationship, they solve a (silly) Trouble





	Enemies of the heir

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PeterHaleforAlpha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeterHaleforAlpha/gifts).



> My first attempt at a case fic! Thank you to PeterHaleForAlpha for always coming up with some great prompts to get me writing something different.
> 
> Written for the prompt: "I never believed I would say this - but this plan sounds remotely reasonable."

It was a Trouble.  Of course it was a Trouble.  It was  _ always _ a Trouble.

The owls swooping around in the daylight had been odd, but it wasn’t particularly troublesome.  When they started perching on people’s shoulders and nipping at their fingers it was a bit more of a problem, but still, they were owls and they were kinda cute.  

Duke didn’t agree with that assessment, he’d got a nasty nip from one of them when he tried to shoo it out of the Gull but Audrey had patched him up and Nathan had told him it was his own fault.

“How  _ exactly _ was that my fault?”  Duke protested.

“Because you scared him.  He’s just a poor defenceless little ball of fluff and you should have left him alone,” Nathan tried to explain, his eyes rolling slightly as he spoke, the hint of a smile on his face.

Waving his injured hand towards Nathan, Duke let out an indignant squeak.  “You call  _ this _ defenceless?!”

They glared at each other for a moment, neither wanting to be the first to laugh at this ridiculous situation.

“Play nicely you two,” Audrey said, drily, packing away the medical supplies.  “Duke, you scared the owl, maybe wait for animal control next time.  Nathan, it was in his  _ bar _ , did you expect him to leave it there?”

His dark fringe flopping into his eyes, Duke nodded his agreement eagerly.  “Yes, Nathan,  _ did  _ you expect me to leave it there?”  He grinned, absurdly pleased with himself for making his point.  Ok, Audrey’s point, but still.

“You’re an idiot,” Nathan’s words were softened by the kiss he planted on Duke’s cheek.  “Gotta go, see you both for dinner?”  He kissed Audrey on the cheek as well, not waiting for them to answer before he strode out of the door and back to work.  Owls.  He shook his head as he walked.  Haven was something else.

***

The spiders had been less cute.  In fact, they’d been downright terrifying.  Huge spiders, the size of a bus.  Hairy.  And they  _ spoke _ .  As if giant monster spiders weren’t frightening enough, they could  _ communicate _ , make  _ demands _ .  Fortunately they hadn’t  _ actually _ eaten anyone (although threats were made before Audrey could talk them down), and arrangements were made for them to live in the uninhabited woods out behind Kick-em-Jenny Neck.  The spiders went willingly, every other  _ normal _ spider in Haven trailing along in their destructive wake.

Duke had been shaking for hours after they left.  “I don’t  _ like _ spiders,” he kept saying, his voice quavering slightly.  Admittedly it had been a close call, he had been one of the people the spiders picked up when they were threatening to eat people.

“They wouldn’t have eaten you, you would have annoyed them to death first,” Audrey said, patting his shoulder absent-mindedly.

“Parker!” Nathan admonished.

Audrey had the grace to look slightly guilty.  “Sorry, did I say that out loud?”

His fear momentarily forgotten, Duke glared at her, trying to work out if she’d been joking, knowing that she really had been.  He wasn’t quite ready to laugh about it yet though.

She raised her hands in mock surrender.  “Sorry, sorry.  Come on, let’s get you home.”

As he drove them back to Audrey’s apartment, Nathan kept an eye out for any wayward spiders along the way.  They’d been spending most of their time there, drinking in the Gull, waiting for Duke to finish and lock up so they could just collapse into bed.  It was more practical than his place, or the Rouge.

Once he’d ushered Duke up the stairs, Nathan stopped to grab a bottle of his favourite whisky from the bar.  When he walked into the apartment, he found Audrey had already snuggled Duke up on the sofa and wrapped him in blankets.  He still looked pale but he’d stopped shaking and that cocky look was back in his eyes, zeroing in on the bottle of whisky and reaching out for it.  Nathan moved it out of his reach and made his way to the kitchen in search of glasses.

Audrey was in the kitchen, her back to the room, shoulders shaking slightly as she heated up some soup.  Realising she was crying, Nathan put the bottle on the counter and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head.  She relaxed into the contact, drawing comfort from him, leaning back into him, letting him ground her.  She moved after a moment, not wanting Duke to realise she was upset, she had to be  _ strong _ for him, couldn’t fall apart, not now.

His voice low, not wanting Duke to overhear them, Nathan said “He’s fine, Parker, we’re all fine.”

“I know, I know,” she whispered back.  “But he so nearly wasn’t.  It’s always going to be like this, isn’t it?  There will always be something.  I can’t...I can’t keep you both safe, no matter how much I try.”  Her expression was bleak, hopeless,  _ lost _ .

“But you’ll always try, and that’s what matters,” Nathan replied, as solid and unflappable as ever.

She nodded, closing off, squashing her worries deep down inside her, and turned back to the soup.

Nathan was having the same thoughts as Audrey, the same doubts.  It had been terrifying, seeing Duke dangling from the pincers of a gigantic hairy spider, helpless, 30 feet off the ground.  Even if the spider  _ hadn’t _ been serious about eating him and had just  _ dropped _ him, the fall alone would have killed him.  He wouldn’t let them see how worried he’d been.  He poured the whisky and carried it over to Duke.

Gulping the first glass eagerly, steadying his nerves, Duke held out the glass for Nathan to refill.  He did  _ not _ like spiders, and if he was going to be honest, he wasn’t exactly great with heights either.  He had definitely had a  _ bad day _ and if this kept up he was going to demand danger money.  He tucked the blankets tighter in around himself, he was  _ cold _ .

There were dark shadows under Duke’s eyes, the occasional involuntary shiver coming off his body.  Nathan realised it must be a bit of shock setting in.  Lifting up the blankets, ignoring the feeble protest, Nathan cuddled in next to him, wrapping the blankets around them both.  Duke leaned into him, accepting the warmth gratefully.

The soup finally ready, Audrey poured out three mugs, passing one to each of them and joining them under the blanket.  She tucked herself into Duke’s other side, pulling his free arm around her, feeling his chest rise and fall with each breath.  Her fear subsided.  He was here, he was fine, and she would do everything she could to keep them all safe.

Taking his soup, Nathan assumed that she’d let it cool enough before giving it to him.  They were past the point where he would have had to  _ check _ , he knew they always did that,  _ trusted _ them to always do that.

Warmth spreading throughout his body with each sip he took, Duke felt the panic slowly leaving him.   _ Fucking Troubles _ .  Biting owls, giant talking spiders, he didn’t even want to think what might be next.  He shook his head, clearing that thought.  That was something to worry about in the morning.  He drained the last of the soup and followed it with another shot of whisky, enjoying the burn as it went down, taking the last of the chill with it.  He relaxed.  He was between the two people he loved more than anything and that was all that mattered right now.

They stayed there for what seemed like hours, not talking, just enjoying each other’s closeness, until Duke’s eyes went lidded and heavy and Audrey stifled a yawn.  Extracting himself from the blankets and getting to his feet, Nathan offered them both a hand, pulling them up and leading them to the bedroom.

As they undressed, Nathan and Audrey both noticed the bruises on Duke’s ribs and exchanged a worried glance.

“I saw that.  I’m  _ fine _ ,” he told them.  “Just bruised, nothing broken.”  But he couldn’t stop himself wincing as he got into bed.  For his part, Duke had noticed how tired Audrey was looking, and how thin Nathan had become.  He would have to make sure they got enough rest, enough food.  He would look after them, the way they’d done for him tonight.

Bundling Duke under the covers, they snuggled in so he was cocooned between them and they were all a tangle of arms and legs.  They were just drifting off when Nathan’s sleepy voice came out of the darkness.  

“Hey, Duke, has it ever occurred to you that you’re not very good with animals?”  

The only answer was a soft chuckle from Audrey and a quiet snore from Duke.

***

An insistent ringing woke them from their sleep.  Opening one eye, Nathan reached for his phone, picking it up just as it stopped ringing.  Audrey’s rang immediately afterwards and she swore under her breath before she answered it.  She sat bolt upright.  “Where?...On our way.”

Turning to her boys, she said “We gotta go, body at the harbour.”

Nathan was out of bed and pulling his clothes on before she finished speaking.  Duke groaned and dragged himself up.  In his opinion, it was far too early to be up but he wasn’t going to let them go without him.

***

There were no signs of injury on the body, it looked for all the world like he’d just dropped dead.  No one seemed to know who the man was, he looked to be in his forties and the way he was dressed suggested that he had just come in or was just going out on a boat.  

Checking with Beattie, Audrey confirmed that no one had been expected and that he hadn’t been here when she did her last checks at midnight.

As they were examining the scene, Nathan’s phone rang again.  “Wuornos,” he answered.  “What?!  Ok.”  His expression was unreadable as he filled the others in.  “Another one.  Main Street.”

Making sure that the scene was secure, they made their way there.  The second body was the same as the first - no visible sign of injuries, a woman in her thirties this time, smartly dressed, probably on her way to work.  At least she was carrying ID so they knew who she was, but she didn’t have any family in Haven.  Leaving uniformed officers to secure the scene, Nathan decided they were better off going to the station and trying to work out what the hell was going on.

His phone rang  _ again  _ as they were getting into the Bronco.  “...Shit.  Really?  Ok, yep, we’re coming.”  He sighed deeply.

“Another one?”  Audrey asked tentatively, not surprised when he nodded.

“A kid, on his paper round.”

Audrey slumped back against her seat, shoulders falling and face dropping as she took in the news.  

Duke thumped his fist against the dashboard hard enough to hurt, swearing loudly.

They made their way there, confirming it was the same as the other two and dropping Duke at the station as Nathan and Audrey went to deliver the news to the family.

***

When they came back, they found Duke looking absurdly pleased with himself.

“How are you so cheerful?”  Nathan said grumpily.  This was a Bad Day and there was nothing to smile about.

Duke rearranged his face into a more appropriate expression.  “Sorry.  I think I’ve sussed it out though.”

“Go on…”  Audrey’s ears had perked up at that.  

Taking a deep breath, knowing what their reactions would be, Duke explained.  “I think it’s a Harry Potter Trouble.”

Nathan groaned and turned away in search of coffee.  Audrey grabbed his hand, making him stay put.

“No, but, hear me out.  Ok, so there were owls, right, and no one knows where  _ they _ came from.  Behaving oddly, hundreds of them came out of nowhere.  That’s gotta be a Haven thing.”

Audrey nodded thoughtfully while Nathan looked sceptical.  “They were owls, Duke, you can’t say everything unusual is a Haven thing,” he said.

“Well yeah, no, but it usually  _ is _ .  Anyway, then there were those fucking giant spiders that tried to kill me.  They could have been Acromantulas.  You know, like Aragog.”

Having never read or watched Harry Potter, Audrey looked blankly at him.  She was beginning to wonder if he was just making up words.  Even Nathan wasn’t too sure.

“ _ Aragog _ ,” Duke said again.  “Hagrid’s pet spider thing.”

“Where are you going with this?”  Nathan sighed.  

“It’s like  _ The Chamber of Secrets _ ...No, no, bear with me,” Duke knew he was beginning to lose them.  “So, the thing that’s killing all those people, it’s a Basilisk.  It’s a huge snake which kills by looking at it’s victim,  _ that’s _ why there are no marks on the victims.  It’s a mortal enemy of spiders, that’s why they were so keen to get out of here, they  _ knew _ it was coming.”

Audrey wasn’t sure what to make of this.  “Ok, supposing you’re right, we’re looking for a Troubled person who’s obsessed with Harry Potter and they’re causing these monsters to appear.  What do we do about this snake...thing... while we’re trying to find them?”

“Parker, don’t encourage him!  It  _ can’t _ be a Harry Potter Trouble!”  Nathan glared at Duke for even suggesting it.

Duke backed off, his hands raised.  “Fine, well you let me know when you have a better idea.”  He turned to stalk out of the office.

Rubbing her forehead, Audrey said “Duke, wait.”  He looked back at her.  “It’s a better idea than either of us have come up with.”

He sauntered back across the room, flopping onto the sofa, looking at them expectantly.

“She’s right.  We’re not going to find out who’s causing the Trouble before this, whatever it is, kills again.  So how do we stop it?”  Nathan conceded that Duke might actually be right.

Thinking for a moment, Duke explained.  “Well, the sound of a rooster crowing is fatal to it.”  Could it be that simple?

“Good to know but it could kill half the town by tomorrow morning.”  Audrey’s face was tight with worry.

“True, true.  Normal wounds would kill it.  Shooting, stabbing.”

“We can’t shoot it if Dwight’s around and we’re going to need his help even finding the thing.  How isn’t anyone seeing a giant monster snake running around town?”  Nathan couldn’t quite believe they were even having the conversation.

“Snakes don’t run, they  _ slither _ .  And people  _ are _ seeing it, it’s just that it sees them too and kills them.”

“I could stab it.  I’m immune to the Troubles, it probably wouldn’t kill me.”  

“Too risky.”  Nathan shook his head.

“If it saves other people…”

“No, Audrey, Nathan’s right, it’s too big a risk.  We know you’re immune to the Troubles, but what if this one’s different?”

Audrey shrugged.  It was the best option they had so far.

“Let’s...Let’s just keep thinking.”  Nathan looked searchingly at Duke who nodded his reply, wracking his brains to think of what else might work.

“And in the meantime, we can try to find our Troubled person.  That has to be our best way of stopping this.”  Audrey reached for her files, shuffling through them, desperately hoping for a spark of inspiration.

***

In the end, Audrey went to see Vince and Dave, hoping they would be able to shed some light on the latest Trouble.

“I’m sorry, Audrey, but I don’t think we’ve ever had giant spiders and snakes,” Vince told her with an air that suggested he might have some ideas but he wasn’t going to share them.  Dave nodded alongside, promising to check the archives.

Nathan went to find Dwight who was cleaning the earlier crime scenes, making sure there was a believable story for three people dropping dead, apparently without cause.  He was hoping that Dwight’s contact with Guard members might be useful, if maybe someone knew of a Harry Potter fan who might be Troubled.

“Can’t think of anyone.  I’ll ask around.  Let me know if you need anything else.”  Dwight clapped Nathan on the shoulder hard enough that Nathan wobbled.

***

Heading back to the station, Audrey was resigned to the fact that Vince and Dave weren’t going to tell her anything.  She would check the files, see what she could find out, maybe there was  _ something _ about a Trouble which brought book-monsters to life.  Maybe Nathan had got more out of Dwight.  Maybe Duke had come up with something.

She found Duke lounging on the sofa, a book in his hand, eyes moving as he read quickly.  “Duke!  Is this  _ really _ the time to be relaxing?!”

He waved a hand in her general direction, telling her to shush.  She bristled at that and he raised the book so she could see the title.  Oh, Harry Potter.  Well, at least it was  _ relevant _ .

Nathan was relieved to see the town so deserted.  It looked like everyone had taken notice of the warning and stayed inside.  He drove back to the station quickly on the quiet streets.

Duke was still reading avidly.  Nathan started to say something but was waved off by Audrey who had stacks of files on her desk and was slowly wading her way through them.  He went over to her, intending to ask what information she’d gleaned from Vince and Dave.  He was interrupted by Duke.

“Ha!  Ok, I  _ might _ have something.”

Nathan and Audrey looked at him hopefully.

“I don’t know how this stacks up against Basilisk mythology in general, but we’ve gotta take the view that this is Harry Potter based, right?”

They nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“Well, it says here that if the Basilisk sees you  _ through _ something, you just end up Petrified, like a statue.”

“I’m not sure that’s any better than being dead if I’m honest.”  Nathan wondered what Duke’s point was.

Duke ignored him and continued.  “You have that one way glass in the interview room, right?”

Audrey nodded slowly, still not completely following Duke’s logic, hoping he was going to get to the point.

He did.  “So if we can lure it in there and get it’s attention, it’s gaze should reflect on  _ it _ and Petrify it.  Then we can kill it.”  Duke finished triumphantly.

Nathan thought for a moment.  “Well I never believed I would say this, but this plan sounds remotely reasonable.”

***

It was  _ eerie _ , waiting in the dark, jumping at every sound.  The station had been cleared, every Haven PD officer sent home.  They were the only three there, waiting in the small room which adjoined the interview room, the lights off so the glass in the interview room was a mirror.

Duke was adamant that the Basilisk would follow the trail of pig’s blood they’d left, certain it would be attracted to the blood and try to trace it to the source.  They waited nervously.  Duke was trying to pace but the room was too small and he kept bumping into things.  Audrey chewed at the skin beside her nails, not even trying to speak.  Nathan fidgeted, his usually still and calm demeanour forgotten as he waited on tenterhooks for  _ something _ ,  _ anything _ .

Nathan heard it first, his ears pricking up at the sound of a soft thud followed by a scrape.  “It’s here,” he mouthed.

They could hear something heavy,  _ slithering _ .  Audrey thought it was the worst noise she’d ever heard, until it  _ hissed _ , a succession of sounds that seemed almost like  _ speaking _ .  Duke felt sick, his hands were shaking and this was every bit as bad as the spiders had been.

The noises moved closer and closer and Audrey’s heart skipped a beat as it paused right outside the door to their room.  They all stayed stock still, not even daring to breathe until it moved away.  Seconds later it’s head appeared in the interview room, it’s forked tongue flicking as it smelled where the blood was strongest.

“Wait,” Nathan breathed almost silently.

They watched as the giant snake-like creature moved further into the room.

“Now!” Nathan shouted.  They’d planned this ahead of time.  Duke whistled, high pitched, attention grabbing.  Audrey banged on the glass, causing vibrations.  Nathan shouted, incoherent words, just making  _ noise _ .  Anything to get the snake to look at them, to look in the mirror.

The Basilisk reared up, switching its gaze to the mirrored glass.  In an instant, it had keeled over, statue-like, with a deep thud.  Breathing a sigh of relief, Audrey dashed out of the room.  Gun drawn, she ran into the interview room and put a bullet between it’s eyes.  That should do it, she thought.

Duke followed her with a machete.  Twisting awkwardly, he took a long swing, the sharp weapon removing the Basilisk’s head.

“What was that for?!”  Audrey asked.  That hadn’t been part of the plan.

Blood spatter was dripping from his hands as he shrugged.  “Just making sure.”

Nathan’s voice sounded from behind him.  “Duke!  You know we had a plan for a reason!”  Sometimes Duke’s lack of ability to  _ do what he was told _ annoyed him intensely.

“I don’t see how being certain a snake-monster is dead is really a problem.”  Duke’s tone was waspish.

Sighing deeply, Nathan had to acquiesce that Duke actually had a point.  He wasn’t going to admit that though.

Checking her phone, Audrey found a message from Dwight.  “Looks like we’ve got a lead on our Troubled person.  C’mon, before any more Trouble-monsters appear.”

Duke and Nathan followed her.  Sometimes it was exhausting working with Audrey Parker.

***

Their Troubled person turned out to be a twelve year old girl.  Small, pale, nervous, she wouldn’t look them in the eye when she spoke.  She and her father were both apologetic.  Harriet had been having a rough time since her mother had died a year earlier.  She was being bullied at school and had lost herself in the world of Harry Potter as a way to escape.

Nathan had made a couple of calls to put them in touch with kids of a similar age so that she would have friends to talk to.  Audrey passed Mr Granger a business card for Claire Callaghan, the town’s resident psychiatrist who had experience helping Troubled people.  Duke gave Harriet some recommendations for books that  _ didn’t _ involve terrifying monsters, and reminded her that school wouldn’t last forever and to talk to someone if she was struggling.

Once Harriet’s confidence was restored, they left Mr Granger making mugs of steaming hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.  It had been Duke’s suggestion, on the basis that since chocolate cured the after effects of a Dementor encounter, it would  _ definitely _ help someone coming to terms with their Trouble.

***

While Duke headed off to the Gull to open up for the evening, Nathan and Audrey went back to the station to start the clean up and contemplate how on  _ earth _ they were going to do the paperwork for  _ this _ .  Somehow Audrey didn’t think ‘gas leak’ was going to cover it.

Stretching her arms above her head, delighting in the crack her shoulders made, Audrey suggested they call it a day and come back to the paperwork in the morning.  Nathan nodded his agreement.  “Dinner at the Gull?  Or we could see if Duke could ask the kitchen to send something up?”  Crossing the office, he gave Audrey’s shoulders a rub.

“Mmm, that’s nice,” she smiled.  “Shall we see what Duke can rustle up from the kitchen?  He needs to relax this evening too, he’s been working just as hard as we have.”

***

Duke was way ahead of them and they came home to find him pouring three glasses of wine, pots bubbling on the stove.

“Something smells good,” Nathan called from the doorway.

“Pasta arrabiata,” Duke replied, crossing the room to pass them each a glass of wine.  “I’ve run a bath and your PJ’s are on the bed.”

“You’re a star, thank you, Duke.  You didn’t need to do this,” Audrey told him after taking a long sip of wine.

Nathan nodded his agreement, and added “Really appreciate it.  Appreciate  _ you _ .  I don’t say that often enough.  Need you to  _ know _ .”

A light flush reached Duke’s cheeks and he pulled both of them into a brief hug, needing to feel them close, not trusting himself to speak.  He wasn’t  _ used _ to kindness, this was all new to him and sometimes it was overwhelming.  “‘S’nothing,” he mumbled, turning back to the kitchen.

While Audrey and Nathan shared a bath, Duke cooked.  He found it calming, relaxing, and there was something about being able to provide for  _ his people _ that he took pleasure in.  It let him feel  _ needed _ , like he was a part of their lives.  He  _ was _ a part of their lives but sometimes it didn’t hurt to remind himself of that.

Nathan came back out first, padding across the room in bare feet, the scent of bath foam following him.  He refilled the wine glasses and took a seat at the table.

“Audrey trying to drown herself in there?”

A slow smile crossed Nathan’s face.  “Turning into a prune as we speak.”

She emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, hair still dripping slightly as she joined them at the table.  Seeing both of her boys in front of her, warm, happy, safe, she started to relax for the first time in two days.  Another Trouble solved.  She knew there would be more to come, but for now she would turn her attention to Nathan’s Trouble.  He wouldn’t admit it but she knew he  _ hated _ not being able to feel Duke.  Everything else paled by comparison.

“Whatever you’re worrying about, it can wait til tomorrow,” Nathan told her.

She chuckled slightly.  “How did you know?”

Duke answered. “There’s a little crease you get between your eyebrows every time you’re worrying about a Trouble.” He pointed at the spot.

Rubbing her forehead, she looked at them both and smiled.  “Sorry, you’re right, let’s just enjoy dinner.”  She made herself put it to the back of her mind, to worry about it in the morning.  Tomorrow was another day.


End file.
